#20 Massachusetts Resumes Hockey East Play This Weekend Against Merrimack, #6/7 Maine

Games 26-27	#20 Massachusetts Minutemen (13-10-2, 4-7-2 HE) vs. Merrimack Warriors (10-13-1, 6-7-1 HE) #20 Massachusetts Minutemen (13-10-2, 4-7-2 HE) at #6/7 Maine Black Bears (15-5-3, 7-3-3 HE)
Dates \| Times	Friday, January 31, 2025 \| 7:00 p.m. Sunday, February 2, 2025 \| 4:00 p.m.
Locations	Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center) \| Orono, Maine (Alfond Arena)
Series History	vs. Merrimack: UMass leads 54-47-8 vs. Maine: Maine leads 61-28-10
Live Statistics	Friday \| Sunday
Watch Live	ESPN+ \| TSN+ (Sunday)
Listen (Radio)	WHMP FM 101.5, AM 1400
Listen (Online)	WHMP Streaming Player \| App: Download The Varsity Sports Network on your mobile device
Game Notes	Massachusetts \| Merrimack \| Maine
Team Records	Massachusetts \| Merrimack \| Maine
Twitter	@UMassHockey \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Hockey \| UMass Athletics
Tickets	Friday \| Sunday

LAST TIME OUT
- Massachusetts hockey closed out its non-conference slate last weekend with a sweep of Alaska at the Mullins Center. On Friday, the Minutemen rallied with a three-goal third period to win 4-2 and then followed up with a convincing 7-3 win on Saturday.
- On Friday Alaska opened the scoring just 2:15 into the first period when Brendan Ross won a battle for the puck in the UMass zone and fed Caelum Dick at the right point who sent a pass over to Broten Sabo. Sabo fluttered a shot through traffic past Michael Hrabal.
- UMass leveled the score at 1-1 at the 11:49 mark. Exiting the penalty box, sophomore Bo Cosman collected an outlet pass and sent a cross-ice feed to Michael Cameron. While Cameron's initial attempt went wide, he was able to re-gather the puck behind the goal and send it back into the crease for Lucas Mercuri to put home into an open net.
- The Nanooks managed to regain the lead before the first intermission. Kyle Gaffney and Ross set up Matt Hubbarde for the finish from the slot at 17:24 that brought the score to 2-1.
- Midway through the second, it appeared the Minutemen had tied the score with a power-play goal by senior Ryan Lautenbach, but a coach's challenge from Alaska resulted in the tally being overturned for goaltender interference.
- At the 5:25 mark of the third period, sophomore Dans Locmelis picked up a pass from classmate Nick VanTassell in the corner and swung around the back of the Alaska net to roof a wraparound over the shoulder of netminder Lassi Lehti to level things at two goals apiece.
- Freshman Francesco Dell'Elce put UMass in front for the first time 11:24 into the frame, curling into the high slot to create space to fire off his sixth goal of the season. Junior Kennedy O'Connor and sophomore Jack Musa earned assists on the play.
- The Minutemen later sealed the win with an empty net goal by junior Kenny Connors from classmate Cole O'Hara and Locmelis at 19:16.
- UMass ended the contest with a 30-26 edge in shots and went 0-1 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
- Hrabal totaled 24 saves in net for the Minutemen and Lehti stopped 26 for the Nanooks.
- On Saturday an early two-goal lead helped UMass roll to the 7-3 victory.
- The Minutemen opened up the scoring at the 3:22 mark of the first Mercuri's offensive zone faceoff win bounced through Nicholas Grabko and into the back of the Alaska net.
- It quickly became 2-0 just 48 seconds later as a rebound from Locmelis and Musa amidst a scramble in front of the Alaska goal kicked out to Cole O'Hara in the slot for him to bury into the twine for his 13th goal of the season.
- The Nanooks cut their deficit in half with Gaffney and Ross starting a rush up the ice that Hubbarde was able to tap home at the back post at the 9:29 mark of the opening frame.
- UMass then made it a 3-1 margin at 11:55 with Mercuri hammering home a rebound after Dell'Elce's initial attempt was stopped. Freshman Larry Keenan earned an assist on the play, as well.
- Alaska pulled back within one 19 seconds into the second period when Chase Dafoe's shot off a feed from Cade Ahrenholz banked off the end boards into Hrabal and in.
- Musa promptly gave the Minutemen back some breathing room, knocking the puck into an open net from the slot with Mercuri and graduate student Linden Alger at the 5:10 mark.
- Locmelis extended the gap to 5-2, converting on UMass' lone power play of the contest off a feed from Lucas Olvestad and Connors at 18:14.
- With 59 seconds to go in the frame, O'Hara pocketed his second of the night, redirecting a pass from Alger at the net front. Junior Kennedy O'Connor also earned an assist on the play.
- Alaska, with an extra attacker on and the net empty, managed to score a power-play goal midway through the third with Dafoe cleaning up a rebound from Peyton Platter and Sabo for his second of the contest at the 12:47 mark.
- Connors then pocketed an empty net goal from Musa and junior Owen Murray 15:13 into the final frame to complete the scoring.
- The Nanooks finished the night with a 33-28 edge in shots and went 1-for-4 on the power play to UMass' 1-for-1.
- Six Minutemen ended the evening with multi-point performances, led by O'Hara (2g, 1a) and Musa (1g, 2a) with three points each.
- Hrabal totaled 30 saves in the win for UMass, while Grabko and Lehti posted 16 and five saves, respectively, for Alaska.

NEXT IN LINE
- Defenseman Francesco Dell'Elce has risen up 2025 Entry Draft boards as of late, slotting in at 91st among North American skaters per NHL.com. Dell'Elce has 19 points on six goals and 13 assists and is +11 through 25 games as the Minutemen's top scoring defenseman.

GOT YOUR (NU)MBER
- Since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, the Minutemen have emerged victorious in 11 of their 14 matchups against Northeastern, including an eight game winning streak. UMass has outscored the Huskies 45-28 during that span including two shutouts and six of the eleven victories coming with a two goal margin of victory or greater.

TWICE AS NICE
- Michael Hrabal continued his stellar play against the Northeastern Huskies that saw Hrabal stop 77 of 79 shots faced, good for a .975 save percentage and a 1.02 goals against average. Collecting his second shutout of the season, the netminder was also recognized as Hockey East's Defender of the Week, his second honor this season. Hrabal's shutout marked the second in as many games for the Minutemen, who outscored their opponents 13-0 during the two games.

RAPID FIRE
- The Minutemen's three goals in 49 seconds in the second period against Robert Morris on January 4 marked the quickest three goals in program history.
- The previous record was set on December 1, 2017 with three goals by George Mika, Jack Suter and Mitchell Chaffee in 1:18 against UConn.

MORE HARDWARE FOR HRABAL
- Sophomore goaltender Michael Hrabal earned Bronze at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship after helping his native Czechia defeat Sweden, 3-2, in a 14-round shootout in the Bronze Medal game at Canadian Tire Centre on January 5.
- Hrabal is the first two-time medal winner from UMass after also helping Czechia to Bronze in 2024. In total, seven individuals from UMass have collected eight medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Current junior Kenny Connors and Ryan Ufko were part of a Bronze Medal winning Team USA squad in 2023. Goaltender Filip Lindberg captured Gold with Finland in 2020 and Cale Makar took home Gold with Canada in 2018, while that same tournament Director of Equipment Operations Josh Penn earned a Bronze medal on staff with Team USA. Stephen Werner was the first Minuteman to collect a medal at the World Junior Championship, winning gold with the United States in 2004.
- Hrabal started six of seven of Czechia's games in the tournament, posting a 3-2 record with a .919 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average over 366:45 in net, totaling 169 saves. He helped the Czechs reach the Semifinal Round with 29 saves on 32 shots in a 4-3 victory over Canada in the quarterfinals.
- In the Bronze Medal game, Hrabal 32 shots through three periods and overtime and then denied 12 of 14 shootout attempts to help seal the medal-clinching win over Sweden, earning Player of the Game recognition. He was selected as one of Team Czechia's Top-Three Players of the Tournament by the team's coaches for a second straight year, as well.
- Freshman Daniel Jencko also competed in the 2025 World Junior Championship and put up four points (2g, 2a) in five games for Slovakia, helping the squad reach the tournament's Quarterfinal round.

IRVING EARNS FIRST CAREER WEEKLY HONOR
- Sophomore Jackson Irving was selected as the Hockey East Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Week on January 6, marking the third time this season that a Minuteman has earned a weekly award and the first career weekly honor for Irving.
- The Newbury, Massachusetts native started in both games at the Desert Hockey Classic for UMass and posted a 1.51 goals against average and a .946 save percentage with 53 saves on the weekend over 119 minutes.
- Irving made 31 saves on 34 shots in a 4-2 loss to #16 Cornell in game one. In game two, he posted his first career win, first career shutout and had his first career assist in an 8-0 win over Robert Morris, stopping all 22 shots he faced.

SERENITY NOW!
- The Minutemen defeated Boston University 4-0 in their first shutout of the Terriers in program history, and their largest margin of victory since 2013 on December 7. The game featured three power-play goals as a result of 48 penalty minutes taken by the Terriers, as well as five goals disallowed-three against the Minutemen and two against the Terriers, all as a result of goaltender interference.

I AM > I WAS
- Linden Alger has surpassed his career-high totals in goals, assists, and points (3g, 5a - 8p), while also shooting at a career-high 10.3%.
- Bo Cosman's two helpers are a career high in points and assists (2a).
- 21 games through the 2024-25 campaign, Michael Hrabal is playing some of the best hockey of his college career, with a career high GAA of 2.41 and a save percentage of .924.
- Jackson Irving continues to impress, posting a 1.5 GAA on the season to go with an outstanding .943 save percentage through five games. He also has a shutout on the season.
- Dans Locmelis has posted a career-high 24 points this season while also surpassing his previous high in assists with 19 in 25 games vs. 14 points (7g, 7a) in 30 games as a freshman last season.
- Owen Murray's three goals set a career high previously set in 2023-24 (2)
- Kennedy O'Connor's five assists surpass his previous high during the 2022-23 season (2a).
- Cole O'Hara has dominated the score sheet thus far, setting a career high in goals while also setting new marks in assists and points (14g, 20a - 34p). O'Hara's previous bests were seven goals and 18 points in 37 games in 2023-24 and 13 assists in 32 games in 2022-23.
- Lucas Olvestad's three goals and 10 assists thus far have set a new career-highs, while surpassing his previous point total (six in 32 games) with 13.
- Aydar Suniev continues to make waves, surpassing totals from his freshman campaign (14g, 13a - 27p). Accomplished in 13 less games than the previous season, Suniev's 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points come in part from an improved shooting percentage, 16.3%, and an impressive +7 on the season.
- Nick VanTassell's 2g and 1a have yielded a new career-high in points with three, while also shooting at 11.5% on the year.

CAN U SEE US NOW?
- Three Minutemen have landed on College Hockey News' Top 50 Hobey Tracker: Cole O'Hara leads the way at 19th, while Aydar comes in at 48. Francesco Dell'Elce's outstanding freshman year makes him one of three first year players on the list and the second highest at 31.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
- Since the 2018-19 season, UMass is 14-6-2 against Providence College, while all other opponents are 25-56-13 against the Friars in that span.
- The Minutemen are 7-2-1 in their last 10 matchups at Schneider Arena, an improvement from 0-10-1 in their previous 11 games dating back to the 2017-18 season.

"GREEN" BLUE LINE
- UMass is just one of nine teams in the nation with four or more freshman defensemen on its roster for 2024-25, trailing only Northern Michigan's seven and Alaska's five.
- The Minutemen have dressed at least three freshman defensemen in 23 of 25 games this season, dressing four on six occasions. The only team to dress three or more freshmen blueliners more times than UMass this season is Air Force (27 times in 28 GP).

O'HARA COPS WEEKLY HONOR
- Junior forward Cole O'Hara was selected as the Hockey East Player of the Week on Oct. 14 for his first weekly honor of his career from the league.
- The Richmond Hill, Ontario native led UMass in scoring at the Ice Breaker Tournament where the Minutemen went 1-1-0 with an 3-2 overtime loss to #15/16 Omaha and a convincing 5-1 win over Air Force and earned a spot on the Ice Breaker All-Tournament Team.
- O'Hara registered an assist against Omaha and then followed up with a then career high three-point night against Air Force, which included two goals—the game-winning power-play goal and an empty net goal. He also registered one block against the Falcons.

HOW DO YOU DUERR?
- Freshman forward James Duerr collected the first three points of his college career against Vermont on Nov. 8, netting two goals and an assist, factoring in on all three UMass goals on the evening.

CHART-TOPPERS
- Aydar Suniev is tied for 11th nationally in goals (10th in goals per-game at 0.61). He ranks tied for 18th in points (27) and 14th in points per-game (1.17). He ranks 16th in the nation in game-winning goals (3), and 18th in power play goals with five, tied with teammate Cole O'Hara in both categories.
- O'Hara climbs to tied for third in the nation in assists with 20 and tied for third in points with 34 (14g, 20a). He also ranks sixth in assists per-game at 0.84 and third in points per-game with 1.4. O'Hara is tied for 11th in the nation with 14 goals.
- Dans Locmelis is tied for 10th nationally in assists with 19, and 16th in assists per-game at .76.
- Kenny Connors is tied for 25th nationally in assists with 17.
- Michael Hrabal is tied for 12th nationally in shutouts with two.
- Lucas Mercuri's prowess in the faceoff dot has him nationally ranked, coming in at 19th in faceoffs won with 249.
- The UMass offense continues to impress, ranking sixth in scoring offense with 3.52 goals per game, third in team assists with 158 and fifth in team points with 246. The success of the power play has brought the Minutemen up to second at 30.1%, with the seventh-most power-play goals, 22. The team ranks eighth in scoring margin at 1.12. The penalty kill has steadily improved, up to 83.6% and good for 15th in the nation. Additionally, their scoring defense has risen to 18th best in the nation at 2.40 goals per-game.

SAVES GALORE: 44
- With a career-high 44-save performance in a victory over AIC on November 2, Michael Hrabal picked up the third 40+ save performance of his college career, topping his previous best of 41 saves against Denver in the 2024 NCAA Regional Tournament and a 40-save game against Boston College earlier in the 2023-24 season.

STATE OF THE U
- University of Massachusetts hockey has youthful roster in its ninth season under head coach Greg Carvel in 2024-25 as the squad is comprised of 16 returning letterwinners and 11 newcomers, which includes 16 freshmen and sophomores.
- UMass saw the bulk of its roster turnover on its back end from a year ago, losing three experienced blueliners to graduation and juniors Scott Morrow and Ryan Ufko to professional hockey. Morrow and Ufko provided almost 20% of the team's points last season with Morrow leading UMass in scoring with 30 points (6g, 24a) and Ufko chipping in 26 points (10g, 16a) which was good for third on the team. Linden Alger returns for a fifth season and will provide a veteran presence on the Minutemen's back end after serving as Ufko's partner on UMass' No. 1 "D" pairing last season. Junior Owen Murray, who was a regular in the lineup as a sophomore and provided 10 points (2g, 8a) a year ago should see yet another bump in his ice time in 2024-25. To help recoup its defensive losses, the Minutemen have added transfer Lucas Ölvestad who is fresh off a National Championship with Denver. UMass has also added 2023 Red Wings' fourth round draft pick Larry Keenan, highlighting a group of four freshmen blueliners.
- The Minutemen return seven of their top nine scorers from last season, including Jack Musa and Aydar Suniev who put up 29 and 25-point seasons respectively as freshmen in 2024-25 and tied for the team lead in goal scoring with12 apiece. In total, UMass brings back 11 members of its forward group from a year ago and adds four newcomers, including graduate transfer Joey Musa.
- In net Michael Hrabal returns for his sophomore campaign after starting 29 of 37 games as a freshman. He will be backed up by classmate Jackson Irving and freshman James Norton.

HATS OFF, AYDAR
- Netting three goals in the 2024-25 season opener, Aydar Suniev recorded his first career hat trick, passing his previous single-game high of two goals and the first hat trick by a UMass forward since the 2021 NCAA Tournament (Carson Gicewicz vs Bemidji State 3/27/21). The feat is also the first in a season opener by a Minuteman since Austin Plevy in a 6-3 win over Colorado College on 10/9/15.

CARVEL'S FAST-150
- The 2024-25 season is already making waves around Amherst as Greg Carvel collected his 150th win at UMass with a victory over Bentley (10/5/24). His continued success through only 289 games put him in the Massachusetts record books next to Don "Toot" Cahoon, reaching the milestone 87 games quicker.
- Cahoon, the program's all-time wins leader, recorded his 150th win in his 376th game and his 166th win in his 434th. Only five wins away, Carvel is closing in on Cahoon as the program's all-time wins leader.

ALL EYES ON U
- Three Minutemen have made The Hockey News "Top 100 NCAA Players to Watch in 2024-25" with Michael Hrabal (29), Aydar Suniev (73), and Kenny Connors (100).
- Hrabal's size, sky-high potential, and solid freshman season have set eyes on him as the season kicks off.
- Suniev receives praise for his intelligence and skill, while Connors could be in store for a strong junior season.

SUMMER SUCCESS
- Following his 2023-24 season with the Minutemen, Dans Locmelis took the ice for Latvia in the Olympic Games Qualification this summer, posting a goal and an assist in three games to help his nation earn a spot in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics.

RAIN OR SHINE
- Among players returning to the Minutemen for the 2024-25 season, five players played in all 37 games during the 2023-24 season: Kenny Connors, Ryan Lautenbach, Lucas Mercuri, Jack Musa and Cole O'Hara.

THE MORE THE MERRIER
- In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, the Minutemen set a program record for the most goals scored against a Division I program in an 11-2 win over Alaska Anchorage on December 8, 2023.
- Among the top scorers for the Minutemen, Aydar Suniev led the way with five points with fellow linemates Jack Musa and Dans Locmelis collecting two and three points, respectively.
- Jackson Irving also made his collegiate debut, stopping all six shots faced in 8:50 of game time.
- Suniev's five points marked the most points by a UMass freshman in a single game in the program's DI era.

NUMBER FOUR IS MONTOUR
- After posting 33 points (8g, 25a) during the 2023-24 season, UMass hockey alumnus Brandon Montour hoisted his first career Stanley Cup, the fourth Minuteman to do so and the seventh Stanley Cup for a Minuteman overall.
- Moutour, a second-round selection of the Anaheim Ducks in 2014, spent the 2014-2015 season with the Minutemen, earning Hockey East All-Rookie team honors after scoring 20 points (3g, 17a) in 21 games.

ON THE RISE
- Among the tenured Minutemen returning for the 2024-25 season, the following players posted career highs during the 2023 campaign:
- Linden Alger (C), 2g, 4pts, +5
- Ryan Lautenbach, 10g, 14a, 24pts, +2
- Lucas Mercuri (A), 9g, 16a, 25pts
- Owen Murray, 2g, 7a, 9pts
- Cole O'Hara, 7g, 18pts

HRA-BALLIN'
- The second-highest Minutemen ever selected in the NHL Entry Draft at 38th overall, Michael Hrabal's highly anticipated freshman season landed him on the Hockey East Second Team All-Star squad, the first UMass goalie to do so in their rookie campaign.
- Over 29 games played, Hrabal posted a 2.62 GAA and a .912 save percentage with a 16-12-1 record. He was named Hockey East's Goaltender of the Week three times during the 2023 season (10/23, 11/20, 2/12).
- Hrabal was named a Top 3 Player for Czechia during the 2023-24 World Junior Championships. Entering the 2024 season, Elite Prospects named Hrabal the fourth-ranked prospect of the Utah Hockey Club and the 11th-ranked NHL-affiliated goaltender.

GRADE-A
- Among UMass' 22 Hockey East All-Academic Team recipients from the 2023-24 season, 12 return to the squad this season with Jackson Irving, Kennedy O'Connor, Linden Alger, Cam O'Neill, Lucas Mercuri, Ryan Lautenbach, Aydar Suniev, Kenny Connors, Owen Murray, Michael Cameron, Bo Cosman and Michael Hrabal.
- Transfers Lucas Ölvestad and Joey Musa were also named to their respective conferences' all-academic teams.

YOUNG N' MIGHTY
- Despite entering the 2024 season as the seventh youngest program in college hockey with an average age of 21.4 years old, UMass ranks second in tallest teams coming in at an average height of 6'1.3".
- With only two seniors on the roster, the Minutemen have the second fewest in the NCAA and are tied for eighth in total underclassmen with 17 freshmen and sophomores.

THE AMHERST PIPELINE
- The Minutemen were well represented in the NHL during the 2023-24 season ranking tied for fourth-most with North Dakota in number of alumni playing in the NHL last season with 15.
- The Minutemen are tied for ninth nationally with nine draft picks on the 2024-25 roster.
- UMass was named the top developmental program in NCAA Men's College Hockey by The Hockey News in August 2021.

GOING BACK TO THEIR ROOTS
- Sophomore Jack Musa and his older brother Joey Musa have reunited for Joey's final season of eligibility after Joey previously played three seasons at Dartmouth. The duo was most recently teammates in 2020-21 with the Odessa Jackalopes of the NAHL.
- Despite coming to Amherst from Orange Park, Florida, the Musa brothers have family ties to Western Mass. as their father, Joe Musa is a Springfield native who played college hockey at Division III Western New England (1990-92).

ALGER, LAUTENBACH AND MERCURI TO LEAD MINUTEMEN IN 2024-25
- Graduate student defenseman Linden Alger has been named captain for 2024-25, while senior forwards Ryan Lautenbach and Lucas Mercuri will serve as alternate captains.
- Alger, who announced he would be returning for a fifth season with the Minutemen this past spring, appeared in 66 games over his previous four years in Amherst, including a career-best 35 in 2023-24. He is +8 for his career and has 13 points on six goals and seven assists, four of which came last season. The four-time Hockey East All-Academic Team honoree is the first Massachusetts native (Centerville) to wear the "C" for UMass since Conor Sheary (Melrose) did so as a senior in 2023-14.
- Lautenbach entered his senior year coming off his most productive campaign of his collegiate career in 2023-24, which saw him post 24 points on 10 goals and 14 assists, including a team-best three shorthanded tallies and one game winner. The Brighton, Michigan native has seen action in 127 career games to date with 21 goals and 39 assists for 60 points. He is a two-time Hockey East All-Academic Team member.
- Mercuri, a 2020 sixth round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, has appeared in 133 of a possible 132 games over his career in a UMass uniform and has compiled 73 career points on 26 goals and 47 assists with six power-play goals and five game winners. The Montreal, Quebec native posted new career highs in goals (9), assists (16) and points (25) as a junior over 37 games with three power-play tallies and three game winners. He has been named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team twice in his career thus far.

MILESTONE WATCH
- Greg Carvel is two away from career win No. 250. He needs five wins this season to pass Don "Toot" Cahoon (166 wins) to become the all-time wins leader at UMass.
- Ryan Lautenbach is two away from moving up into a tie for third all-time for career shorthanded goals, currently with three. Five individuals are tied for third with five with Stephen Werner (2002-06) being the most recent entry into the top-three.
- Michael Hrabal (27 wins) currently ranks tied for sixth for career wins by a goaltender in UMass history with Markus Helanen. He needs two wins to match Filip Lindberg (29) for fifth.

IN CARVEL WE TRUST
- Head coach Greg Carvel, in his ninth season of his UMass tenure, has led the Minutemen to five seasons of 20+ wins, including a program-record 31 wins in 2018-19, the second-highest wins total in program history (22 in 2021-22), 21 wins in 2019-20 (tied-third) and 20 wins in 2020-21 and 2023-24 (tied-fifth).
- Carvel won his 100th game at the helm for the Minutemen on November 6, 2021 at Providence. He earned his 200th career victory on March 12, 2022 vs. the Friars in the Hockey East Quarterfinals.
- Among active Division I Men's head coaches, Carvel is second in wins for coaches with tenures of 14 years or less, trailing only Mike Hastings (Wisconsin, 336). Carvel is in his 14th year as a head coach and currently has 248 wins.
- Under head coach Greg Carvel, the Minutemen are 7-3 in the NCAA Tournament with two trips to the National Final (2019 and 2021) and one National Championship (2021) and have made four NCAA Tournament appearances under Carvel.
- UMass is 21-39 all-time in the Hockey East Tournament, 11-8 under Carvel and 9-3 since 2019 with consecutive Hockey East Tournament titles in 2021 and 2022, the first two in program history.
- Overall under Carvel (Hockey East and NCAA Tournament) UMass' postseason record is 18-11 with two Hockey East Championships, two Regional Championships and one National Championship.

FILL THE BILL
- UMass finished its home slate ranked 13th nationally in attendance and 11th average attendance (5,544) over 17 home games on the year.
- The attendance vs. No. 6 Michigan tied the program's Mullins Center attendance record at 8,412 after packing the building with 7,361 fans the night before against the Wolverines, good for 17th-most all-time. That weekend series against Michigan set a new non-conference weekend series attendance record with a combined total of 15,773 coming through the doors at Mullins on Oct. 13 and 14.
- UMass drew 7,737 fans against Maine on Feb. 3, 6,342 against UConn on Feb. 10, 8,412 against Boston College on Feb. 16 and 6,089 on Feb. 23 vs. New Hampshire. It matched a program record of four straight home crowds of 6,000+, first set in 2007 (3/2, 3/3, 3/9, 3/10). Then for the home regular season finale, 6,289 fans came out to the Mullins center to break the record with a fifth-straight home crowd of 6K+.
-The streak of 6K+ attendances continued for the Minutemen in their 2024-25 home opener with a crowd of 6,022 vs. Sacred Heart on Oct. 18 and a sellout crowd of 8,412 against UConn on Oct. 25.

PROSPECTS APLENTY
- The Massachusetts roster features nine NHL draft picks across eight different franchises. UMass returns Dans Locmelis (Boston, 2022 fourth round), Michael Hrabal (Arizona, 2023 second round), Cam O'Neill (Ottawa, 2022 fifth round), Aydar Suniev (Calgary, 2023 third round) and Nick VanTassell (Ottawa, 2023 seventh round) for a second season, while Kenny Connors (Los Angeles, 2022 fourth round) and Lucas Mercuri (Carolina, 2020 sixth round) are in their fourth years with the Minutemen, respectively.
- Freshman Larry Keenan was selected in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round (117th overall).

MINUTEMEN FROM NEAR AND FAR
- UMass' 2024-25 roster is composed of student-athletes from seven different countries.
- There are three different Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) represented and nine different states (Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania).
- Springfield native Kennedy O'Connor is the closest to home at 27 miles, while Aydar Suniev is the furthest from home (Kazan, Russia) at 4,844 miles.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
- UMass has gone 90-33-11 at the Mullins Center over the past five-plus seasons (2018-present) for a .713 winning percentage. This stretch included a 16-game unbeaten streak (15-0-1) that began on Jan. 11, 2019 against Vermont and came to an end on Nov. 30, 2019 with a 2-1 loss to Quinnipiac.

BLOODLINES AND FAMILY TIES
- Jack and Joey Musa are the sixth set of brothers to wear the Maroon & White in the program's modern era, the fifth duo to play together at UMass. The other five sets of brothers are: Anthony Del Gaizo (2018-22) and Marc Del Gaizo (2018-21), Taylor Makar (2021-24) and Cale Makar (2017-19), James Marcou 2007-10 and Michael Marcou 2008-12; Jeff Turner 1997-2001 and Tim Turner 1999-2003; Mike Warner 2000-04 and Tim Warner 2001-05.
- Linden Alger's father, Richard, played for UMass in the program's inaugural Division I season (1993-94) and then played the next two campaigns at Boston University (1995-97). Kennedy O'Connor's father, Thomas, was a teammate of Alger's at UMass in 1994-95 and played with the program through 1998 before going on to a professional career with the Wheeling Nailers (1998-99) and Augusta Lynx (2000-01) of the ECHL and the Syracuse Crunch (1998-99) and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (1999-00) of the AHL. O'Connor's sister, Kayla, was a college hockey player as well, playing at Trinity from 2014 to 2018.
- Lucas Ölvestad's father, Jimmie, played for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2001-2003 and Lucas was actually born in Tampa during his father's NHL tenure. Jimmie Ölvestad went on to have an extended pro career with Djurgårdens IF back home in Sweden.
- Owen Murray's great uncle, Dallas Smith, played for the Boston Bruins from 1966 to 1977.
- Jackson Irving's father, Father, Bruce, was a goaltender at Cornell.
- Cam O'Neill's brother Colin played hockey at UMass Lowell (2016-18) and his brother Jason played hockey at Providence (2017-21).
- Freshman Larry Keenan's grandfather Larry Keenan played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs (1961-62), St. Louis Blues (1967-71), Buffalo Sabres (1970-72) and Philadelphia Flyers (1971-72).
- Freshman James Duerr's brother Sam plays hockey at Bentley.

Scoreboard

#20 Massachusetts Resumes Hockey East Play This Weekend Against Merrimack, #6/7 Maine

Players Mentioned

Linden Alger

Michael Cameron

Mitchell Chaffee

Kenny Connors

Bo Cosman

Anthony Del Gaizo

Marc Del Gaizo

Francesco Dell'Elce

James Duerr

Michael Hrabal

Jackson Irving

Larry Keenan

Ryan Lautenbach

Filip Lindberg

Dans Locmelis

Cale Makar

Taylor Makar

Lucas Mercuri

George Mika

Scott Morrow

Owen Murray

Jack Musa

Joey Musa

James Norton

Kennedy O'Connor

Cole O'Hara

Cam O'Neill

Lucas Ölvestad

Aydar Suniev

Jack Suter

Ryan Ufko

Nick VanTassell

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University of Massachusets Athletics